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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-12-02 Daily Xml
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Remote Area Housing

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:36): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question to the Minister for Human Services regarding remote housing.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: The minister's agency revealed in September that a tender was released in February for 26 homes in remote Aboriginal communities. The tender closed in April, but no contracts were awarded until September. This is despite the original tender documents showing that the first six homes were due to be completed by 30 June this year.

The minister's hand-picked board chair publicly revealed that the delay was due to the board wanting housing that was—and I quote—'cheaper'. The chair then revealed that transportable homes were being considered but that nothing came of these considerations because:

One of the companies that was considered for that went into receivership, so nothing has come of it.

Finally, the minister's agency revealed that the five-year contract would result in no additional homes in remote communities, just replacements. My questions to the minister are:

1. What is the level of housing overcrowding in remote Aboriginal communities?

2. What exact discussions has she had with the minister responsible for Aboriginal affairs about there being no extra homes in the APY lands over the next five years?

3. What has the minister said to the chair of her board after learning that the contracts were delayed because they wanted cheaper transportable homes from a company that then collapsed, or did the minister never bother to ask why?

4. Is the minister concerned that the chair of her board was looking for cheaper solutions rather than better value solutions?

5. Is the minister comfortable that there will be no extra homes for the remote communities?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:38): I thank the honourable member for his question. He may or may not be aware, depending on whether he has done his own research or whether it has been done by one of his staff members, that in relation to the national partnership on remote housing I have stated previously that the funding arrangements which were negotiated with the commonwealth meant for the first time that the South Australian government is actually contributing to this particular program, but in terms of additional properties we were only able to provide for replacement properties.

I note with some disappointment that there has been some focus on the chair of the Housing Trust board, Mr Garry Storkey, who Labor members make disparaging remarks about at times, and I assume from his opening remarks that the Labor Party continues to disparage people who have put themselves forward for service. I think it is worth letting the house know that in order to take up the position as the chair of the board Mr Storkey actually left his previous employment with Community Housing Ltd.

He is the chair of the board; he does an exceptional job and he is worth every cent that he is paid in board fees, given his extensive experience not just with Community Housing, with public housing, but also through his former role with HomeStart. He's an incredibly valuable person in that leadership role in that organisation.

The advice I have received is that clearly the program for remote housing does have significant expenses related to it because of its remote location. There is also a number of design features that come with building on the lands that mean that houses are expensive, particularly compared to metropolitan Adelaide. While that is something that is regrettable, I think to some degree it is to be expected, but we always try to go for value for money. It is probably worth letting the house know, too, that when I—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: It's certainly not value for money. You have got no houses—zero; no builds.

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —attended the APY lands in May last year I went to one of the communities where they were actually removing housing which one of the former Labor ministers had insisted upon placing there. They were converted containers and they had to be subsequently removed because they contained asbestos, so I am not about to be lectured by the Labor Party on value for money in remote housing. We have Wiltja Construction—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter should remain silent! The minister has the call.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The minister has the call.

The Hon. S.G. Wade: But how many shipping containers?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Yes, my colleague, the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, in an out of order interjection, reminds us about those shipping containers which cost not just a considerable amount to purchase and to place on the lands but also a considerable amount of money to remove. I will take that on notice and provide how much that complete disaster cost the state government.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. R.P. Wortley: He's outraged.

The PRESIDENT: He's out of order, as is the Hon. Mr Wortley. The minister, I am sure, is bringing her answer to a conclusion but she will be heard in silence.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Because clearly Mr Hunter is deeply interested in the failures of his former government in terms of that particular program, so I'm sure he will be interested in that in great detail.

As I was trying to say, Wiltja Construction is an existing SA Housing Authority contractor and it is the company which is engaged to deliver works on the APY lands. The tender covers the capital program for the demolition and replacement of 26 properties in the remote APY lands. There are also constraints in terms of additional sites for new homes to be built in some of those communities because they have effectively reached the end of their sewerage and water capacity, and a range of those issues, which are matters that are outside of this portfolio, but it is something that we are always aware of.

I think it is also worth reminding members that a lot of Aboriginal people can be quite mobile, so there are seasonal fluctuations in terms of overcrowding and those matters, but we are always taking these things into consideration.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: We also have an Aboriginal Housing Strategy which is something that we—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —committed to prior to the election, and that group is consulting with Aboriginal people in earnest on what they see as their housing future, not just for remote communities but across South Australia.

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